Infrastructure in Remote Communities

Motor coach officials throughout the province are anxiously anticipating a provincial government announcement which is expected in the next few days.

This includes representatives from the Wilson’s Group of Companies, which operates the Tofino Bus.

Vancouver Island’s lone intercity bus service has not operated since this past December. It was forced to shut down to follow B.C. health regulations that were put in place to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ten years after the Maa-nulth Treaty took effect, Ka:'yu:'k't'h'/Che:k'tles7et'h' First Nations (KCFN) are ready to take a seat with regional government.

KCFN becomes a full voting member of the Strathcona Regional District board April 1 in keeping with a treaty commitment made by the five Maa-nulth signatory nations, four of which already occupy seats on the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District executive.

The small Vancouver Island village of Zeballos will be receiving $750,000 of provincial funding for some much-needed work in its community.

Zeballos is located within the traditional territories of the Ehattesaht First Nation.

The money Zeballos is getting is part of the province’s latest announcement of $8.5 million in provincial emergency preparedness funding.

Zeballos, which has a population of 107, is a village prone to various geohazards, including flooding and slope hazards on its mountain which result in rockslides, rockfall and debris flow.

A Friday morning meeting could potentially decide the fate of the Tofino Bus service.

Vancouver Island’s only intercity bus service has not operated since this past December, when it was shut down in order to follow B.C. health regulations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Service was scheduled to resume in January but that was pushed back until this past Friday (Feb. 12).

Affordable housing in Tofino has been a longstanding issue the community has grappled with for years. 

Renowned for its natural beauty and cultural richness, Ian Scott, Tofino Housing Corporation (THC) interim executive director, said that people are “chasing Tofino as a place to live having made money elsewhere, or choosing Tofino as a place to own a second home.”

In 2018, the median assessed value of single-family home in Tofino was $647,500, a 39 per cent increase from 2012, according to the 2018 Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Region’s Vital Signs report.

Countless members of First Nation communities on Vancouver Island’s west coast will have to start thinking of new ways to get around.

Perhaps permanently.

That’s because the Tofino Bus, which provides services to 29 communities as well as 21 First Nations or organizations on Vancouver Island, will not be resuming service as previously scheduled this Friday, Feb. 12.

The Tofino Bus is currently Vancouver Island’s only intercity bus service.

As a young girl, Gina Laing spent her days in the remote village of Ethlateese living off the land. Considered the wettest place in North America, Ethlateese is tucked away in the Uchucklesaht Inlet. Surrounded by uninterrupted forest, the tiny village looks as though it is about to be swallowed whole by the surrounding mountains.

It was the birthplace of Laing’s father, who lived there his entire life – the way his mother had before him.

Those deep ancestral ties have connected Laing to the quiet piece of land ever since her earliest memories.

With winter still ahead, Anacla and Bamfield have already seen seasonal power outages, reminding residents of their notoriously unreliable electrical service.

“We’ve had at least two now,” said Trevor Cootes, Huu-ay-aht First Nation councillor.

“This is the time of year when I get reminded of other considerations of importance to this energy project,” added Cootes, who is responsible for the Huu-ay-aht economic development portfolio. “Huu-ay-aht struggles quite often and it’s out of the hands of B.C. Hydro.”

Huu-ay-aht First Nations (HFN) are pressing ahead this fall with construction of Anacla’s first community wastewater treatment system, considered a catalyst for local economic growth.

After decades of discussion, negotiation and planning, the $8-million wastewater project finally gained ground through a unique partnership between HFN, Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre (BMSC) and the research station’s supporting universities.